Misguided Blood, War of the Mazoku
by Hiei-Riku-RubedoFAN
Summary: Raizen had a son and daughter. Together they formed the perfect Yin and Yang. Now those two forces are clashing and everything Yusuke and company know is falling apart. Can they stop it and still stay alive? How far will this torment go?
1. Prophecy

_**ME:**_** Alright! I feel really bad for taking my first YYH story, **_**This Means War**_** off of fanfiction, but I was forced to for personal reasons. This story is not a remake of it or anything like this but it will be A LOT better! For those who like twisting plots, unforeseen enemies, kick ass fight scenes, and many, many, MANY other things that have your blood racing, this is the story for you!**

_**Hiei:**_** And for those who don't?**

_**ME:**_** Read this anyway. It'll be worth it in the long run! It has some hidden things that are meant to be understood, but not explained.**

_**Hiei:**_** Hn. We'll just have to see. Now say your own disclaimer baka onna. I'm not in the mood.**

_**ME:**_** Understood, Hiei-san. I don't own Yu-Yu Hakusho. If I did, this would be put in because it would fit really well!**

_**Hiei:**_** We'll let the readers decide that!**

_**ME:**_** You sound excited. Story Start!**

**-------------**

_**Chapter 1: Prophecy**_

_Raizen, the God of War and King of the Mazoku, will be gifted with two children that will stand proud to their father's name. One shall be his son with a temper like an active volcano and the other shall be his daughter as calm as the untouched sea. Together they shall make the perfect Yin and Yang with a never changing stable balance. No world has ever seen the likes of these children and with their birth, a new age will dawn on all living things. The son will be the savior to all he comes into contact with, while the daughter will wage war on all she sees. The two will know nothing about the other and when they've reached twenty years of age, they'll meet on the battlefield with their weapons blazing. There the truth shall be revealed and they will be forced into the final clash._

_One, and only one, will walk from the battlefield and place their will on the worlds. Ningens and Yokai alike will submit to their will and the new age will truly begin._

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Koenma sat at his desk and stared at the demonic orb in his hand with a horror struck expression. The Prince of the Reikai was in his teenage form and a worried line creased his young forehead. He ran a hand through his brown hair and pressed the intercom on his desk. He requested the immediate attendance of the ferry girl, Botan, and carefully placed the demonic orb on its respected pillow that had been placed on his desk.

"Yusuke's twentieth birthday just happened about a week ago. Damn," Koenma growled running both hands through his hair and tucking his chin to his chest. He didn't need this kind of news hitting him now. Not with all the incidents of demons leaking through the Makai barrier and attacking defenseless humans. He was not ready to deal with this kind of thing and now with the new information about Yusuke……it only made matters worse. The young lord was in a serious need of a strong, fast-working aspirin.

"You…called for me, Lord Koenma?" Botan's cautious voice echoed from the doorway. The Reikai Prince slowly looked and found her bright purple eyes looking at him worriedly. She slipped into the room, smoothing out her bright pink kimono and asked, "Did another demon attack happen?"

"No…but something just as bad," Koenma gestured to the orb that sat on his desk. Its dark swirling clouds of midnight blue and tainted blood red clashed against one another and gave a faint aura that shone around it, "This little orb holds a prophecy that was told over hundreds of years ago and it seems to involve Yusuke Urameshi……bad thing is…it's already begun to unravel our hold on the worlds."

Botan's hands flew to her mouth and she stammered, "You mean the outbreaks of violence against humans?!"

"Unfortunately, yes I do, Botan. I think you should listen to this and then go find Yusuke," Koenma said rising from his chair. His fingers curled gently around the small orb and he held it out for his subordinate to see, "Listen VERY carefully to what it has to say."

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The Makai was almost silent that night. A soft fall breeze blew through the trees and blew a few strands of hair into Hiei Jaganshi's face. The fire apparition was perched in the high branches of one of his favorite trees and the wind caused him to open one eye. It was a clear night and his bright red eyes could easily count every star in the sky. Hiei yawned slightly and sat up a ways to glance around the Makai.

"Boring as usual," Hiei muttered in a flat tone. Lately, he hadn't been challenged by any demons and he was taking his time to sit back and relax. He still had a report that was due back in the Reikai, but he was in no hurry to return there. Once he got there he would have to hand over his 'discovery' and that would only lead to him taking more obnoxious missions that made him want to rip Koenma's throat out, "Let them worry a bit. It doesn't bother me one bit."

So, Hiei leaned back against the tree and began to close his eyes yet again. He was planning on getting a few more hours of sleep that he had been deprived of and then head back to the annoyances he agreed to help. That was the plan…until he suddenly felt an unwelcome wave of Youki hit him. It was a challenge…and it was meant for him.

Instantly, his body tensed and his hand was swiftly on the hilt of his sword. He leapt to his feet and shot of the branch just as the entire tree exploded into splinters. An emerald green blur shot from the shadows and Hiei was knocked clean off his guard. The demon did not hesitate in slamming his down to the ground and slam their elbow deep into his chest.

Hiei instantly felt all the oxygen leave his lungs and struggled to get himself back up to his feet. His enemy on the other hand did not want him to do that and Hiei instantly felt something sharp collide with his skull. A tear in his skin seared in his hair and he was forced back down to the ground again. A steady river of crimson streamed through his hairline and dripped across his face in large splatters.

Being the fighter Hiei was, this only made him struggle more and he managed to catch the tip of his sword on the shoulder of his opponent. They gave a grunt of pain and Hiei gave a swift kick to their chest to put some distance between them. The fire apparition didn't waste anymore of his valuable time and leapt up with his sword glinting in the moonlight. He glared at his opponent and said, "Didn't think you could beat me in a fair fight so you tried to catch me off guard, eh?"

"Hmph. Thief," the demon hissed lunging forward. Hiei swung his sword and his blade clashed against the long nails of his enemy.

"So you're the demon who runs that pathetic excuse for a base. I'm not impressed," Hiei smirked as he pushed his weapon against his enemy.

"I'm running on a tight schedule. I don't have time to fight you or otherwise I would," with that the demon swiftly reached into Hiei's cloak and produced a folder before Hiei could do anything to stop them. They leapt back, with their treasure in hand and Hiei managed to get one clear glance at his enemy before tearing off after them in fury.

They had long hair black as pitch and it seemed to be pulled back into a long braid.

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Yusuke shot into a sitting position and found himself drenched in a cold sweat. A shiver shook his spine and he glanced to the alarm clock seeing that it was only four in the morning. He ran a hand through his black hair and glanced at his sleeping wife. Keiko was not disturbed by his sudden movement and simply tucked the comforter closer to her chin. Yusuke let out a small sigh of relief and slipped out of the bed without waking her. Clothed only in pajama pants, Yusuke walked out of the room and went into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him with a soft click and turned on the light to look in the mirror.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but once they did he barely kept himself from giving a shout in surprise. Around his neck was a necklace that he had never seen before and even stranger still, the pendant seemed to have been split in half. On the small leather cord around his neck hung the pendant of half a Yin and Yang symbol. The part of the pendant he had was Yang and he sure as hell never owned anything like it.

"What the hell?" Yusuke whispered as he reached down and began fingering the pendant thoughtfully. After a moment or so he reached towards the back of his neck to take the cord off and the pendant shone. The light blinded him and a sudden wave of demonic energy slammed him into the door. It rattled against its hinges and Yusuke slid down the door in a daze.

"Yusuke!" Keiko's voice shouted from the other room. Yusuke barely heard her and tried to clear the haze that was flooding his mind. Yusuke closed his eyes and momentarily was lost within the dark haze that fell over his mind.

"YUSUKE!" Keiko shouted more desperately than before. Yusuke woke and found that he was propped against Keiko's arms. She was staring at him worriedly and he slowly sat up looking at his new necklace that would not allow itself to be removed.

"That was definitely new," Yusuke said looking at Keiko apologetically.

"You have some major explaining to do, you know!" Keiko hissed at him.

"What did I do this time?" Yusuke moaned in confusion.

"Botan just called on the communicator and woke me up. Then I heard you slam into the door," Keiko sighed shaking her head. Worry instantly flashed over her face and Yusuke instantly felt a knot of guilt twist his stomach. Keiko was the one person that he never wanted to worry, but seemed to anyway. He had been doing everything he could to assure her that he was no longer involved in demonic affairs, but it seemed that all his efforts had been in vain.

"Botan called? But…why?" Yusuke asked looking at her confused.

"She said that she wanted us to meet at Genkai's tomorrow around one. She said something about danger in the Reikai and that you……" Keiko trailed off and she looked at the wall with a dark glance. She turned back to Yusuke and continued, "You have a new mission and this time……It's going to affect all of the worlds."

"Oh shit," Yusuke said looking at Keiko's serious face.

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Kurama quickly grabbed his cell phone off the bedside table and glanced at the clock. Four forty-two A.M. flashed in big letters back at him. Kurama blinked to clear his mind and answered the phone in a quiet voice. Botan was on the other line and he instantly sat up listening to her explain the situation. He did not hesitate when she asked him to meet the others at Genkai's temple and was surprised when she quietly asked, "Kurama……have you heard from Hiei?"

"No. Not since Koenma sent him on that scouting mission," Kurama answered barely stifling a yawn.

"Well, Hiei always reports in when he feels like it, but it's always within six hours of the time Koenma's given him. Well……it's been two days," Botan stopped and Kurama's stomach did a flip. Hiei was always doing what he wanted, but he never caused that much of an uproar among the Reikai. He's always had more class than that.

"Where was he last at in the Makai?" Kurama asked pulling himself from the comfort of his warm blankets and moving towards his closet.

"Thank you, Kurama," Botan sighed in relief.

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The Makai was quiet and the young demon with pitch black hair was racing through the forest that was so dense that not even the smallest shred of moonlight could come through. They wiped the blood from their hands and growled in annoyance. They were clad in a dark cloak and had a black mask drawn over their face. They gave a small sigh and came to a stop once they were sure they was far, far, FAR away from the pursuing Hiei.

"He'd be a real strong opponent. Too bad I caught him off guard. I would've really liked to have a real fight with him. Oh well, that doesn't matter now. I got what I needed," they laughed and put their hand deep into the cloak. They then produced the folder that was full of information that Hiei had stolen from within their base.

"I can't let the Reikai see my plans just yet. I still have to track down the last elements of my success. Yusuke and Keiko Urameshi."

With that the folder burst into flames and they blew the ashes into the wind. A soft maniacal snicker came from their lips and they broke into a full out sprint to return to their base.

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_**ME:**_** Well, how's that for a starting chapter? I hope you liked it. This story is going to go all the way to the end and I swear I'm not stopping this time! I WON'T!**

_**Hiei:**_** Who attacked me?**

_**ME:**_** I'm pretty sure you can guess. Anyway, I hope this story does as well as my others and I can't wait to see what reviews I'll get! Alright! I'll update soon I promise. Please review! PLEASE!**

_**Hiei:**_** Someone review and shut her UP!**

**REVIEW! Clickie the button of peace and love! Clickie the button and peace and love will spread throughout my school! (Trust me. A lot of kids need it. They're going to be the next dumbasses that go get all of us killed.) Clickie the button PLEASE!**


	2. Nightmare

_**ME:**_** Oh jeeze. It's been FOREVER since I updated any of my stories. I feel like a really bad authoress now. I'm soooooo sorry readers!**

_**Hiei:**_** You better have something that makes up for the long wait. You made this story. You better take care of it.**

_**ME:**_** Uh-oh…I better update more for all my stories then. Lol. Ok, so to this story then. Hehe. Well, let's just say I have quite a few twists in this one that people will positively love. Oh and by the way Hiei, I'm so sick and tired of Yukina not knowing you're her brother. In this story……**

_**Hiei:**_** You wouldn't!**

_**ME:**_** Maybe I would…maybe I wouldn't. What do you think Hiei? Will I do it? Or am I just trying to get you fired up?**

_**Hiei:**_** What I think is too graphic for this story and it would be out of my character to say it.**

_**ME:**_** (nervous sweatdrop) ah, heh, heh, heh……anyway. Before my muse decides to let his murderous plots slip, let's say the disclaimer and get this show on the road!**

_**Hiei:**_** (silent, sending authoress a death glare)**

_**ME:**_** Uh……well, ok then. I don't own Yu-Yu Hakusho and if I did I would be a very, very, VERY happy child. Lolz. Ok, so chapter start!**

**-------------**

_**Chapter 2: Nightmare**_

A low, annoyed growl escaped the apparition's lips as Hiei came to a stop near the edge of a clearing. A steady river of crimson flowed over the right side of his face and he brought his hand up to clean his eye. Hiei had managed to tail his attacker for a great while, but was finally forced to rest due the blood loss. His almond shaped eyes were alert as they scanned the trees around him. All was silent and still. Hiei was sure something was lurking just beyond his sight, but his mind was focused on other matters.

"This is what I get for agreeing to work the Reikai," Hiei hissed as he leaned against the trunk of a tree to work on the bleeding gash on his head.

"Its sounds as though you're annoyed. I shall end that for you!" a rasping voice screeched from his right. Hiei barely flicked his katana from its sheath in time to defend himself and soon found a mini army standing against him. Each demon was heavily armed with its own taste of weapons and each stood six feet taller than Hiei. The fire apparition was soon assaulted with swords, knives, axes, and various other weapons that each had its own danger attached to it.

"Annoyances," Hiei sneered as he easily dodged through the attacks. In a matter of moments, Hiei viciously lashed out against his foes with a gleaming blade longing to meet with an enemy's throat. It soon received its wish as Hiei pressed the blade to a demon's blue skinned throat and effortlessly tore it clean in half. A shriek pierced the air as a crimson stain decorated the entire area. Hiei just managed to catch a glimpse of the demon's still beating heart and moving lungs before he disposed of the corpse and moved onto the next enemy. In short order the entire clearing was decorated with rust colored blood staining the ground and dripping from various points all around. Pools of blood reflected the rising sun and Hiei leaned against another tree trunk unaware that he managed to find the only clean one left. His left arm was bleeding slightly and the gash in his hairline was pouring blood again. The few demons remaining circled in on their prey and Hiei tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.

All time seemed to freeze for a moment before Hiei suddenly lunged forward and plunged his sword deep into the chest cavity of the nearest enemy. He turned his sword like one would turn a key in a lock and suddenly ripped it towards the sky. The sound of tearing flesh echoed all around the clearing and the demon's insides were exposed for all to see. Hiei tossed the demon's body aside with a sneer and growled, "So one of you did have a backbone. Let's see if anyone else does!"

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The demon with long black hair suddenly appeared at the entrance of a cave on a beach and froze for a moment. The sound of waves crashing against rocks met their ears and water dripping from the inside of the cave echoed out to their ears. The demon's body relaxed slightly and they spoke in an obviously female voice, "Well, at least those fools were useful for something. They stopped him before he could get too far after me."

With that she moved into the cave with a walk that seemed more like a glide. Her footsteps didn't even echo as she moved deeper into the cave and the surrounding slowly began to change. More demons began to appear along the path and each gave a deep respectful bow as she passed them with an annoyed air. The cave walls began to modernize and the entrance of an underground base began to form.

"So you've come back," a voice called out from the shadows to the cloaked demoness. She stopped and waited as a demon with midnight blue hair came to her side. They too were dressed in a black cloak but their mask was white with markings that symbolized "poison."

"Kane," the answer was short, sweet, and to the point. The demoness began walking forward once again and the demon identified as Kane moved into step behind her.

"Has something disturbed you?" he asked casually as he moved in front of her and pushed open a set of large demon crafted doors. The demoness nodded in acknowledgement as she walked past him and Kane silently shut the door behind them.

"The demon the infiltrated this base turned out to be the infamous Hiei Jaganshi. He attempted to pursue me, but was forced to retreat and deal with a battalion of our subordinates. Yet, he wasn't as angry as he should've been. There was…a smugness that stayed around him even as I put more distance between us. I'm curious as to see if he did anything else than just take one mere folder from us," she answered in a thoughtful tone as she called a cloud of shadows before them. Both demons stepped into the swirling clouds of black and soon stepped out of its depths to enter a huge room rivaled by Koenma's office. One large terminal stood high before them and various other terminals lined the walls around it. Demons were dashing around frantically and the room was instantly thrown into an utter chaos.

"Kane, what is the meaning of this?!" the cloaked demoness hissed in a tone that was dripping in murderous intent.

"I leave for ten minutes and all goes to hell," Kane muttered under his breath as he moved to the middle of the room. He raised his hand high over his head and released a sonic wave that sent all the demons to their knees in a matter of seconds. He waited for the sounds to pierce all of the demons' eardrums before relenting and roaring, "NOW IF YOU PATHETIC FOOLS ARE COMPOSED ENOUGH, REPORT YOUR SORRY EXCUSE FOR THIS DISORDER!"

A satisfied chuckled escaped the demoness' lips and she moved to Kane's side. She stood calmly beside him and moved a strand of black hair from her face as her eyes began sweeping over the demons assembled before her. All became silent and a low ranking demon stepped forward with his eyes firmly planted on the floor at their feet. He shifted uncomfortably before his superiors and finally whispered, "The thief was more cunning than we thought. That folder wasn't the only thing he tampered with before he left us."

Kane stiffened and stole a quick glance at his superior. He saw her eyes flash a demonic red for a moment and he took a step to the side as she hissed, "What was tampered with and who was the demon guarding it?"

The subordinate demon swallowed and whispered, "I was guarding it."

Kane move three feet away and shot the other demon's an expression that dared them to make any unnecessary movements. All of them immediately froze and she hissed in an even more deadly tone, "What. Did. He. Take?"

"He…he downloaded all the information that was in that file on a disk and then…" the demon trailed and swallowed hard knowing this last piece of information would be his last. He looked at her with pleading eyes and finished, "He deleted everything from the hard drive."

The air instantly froze and no one saw the demoness move before her hand was plunged deep into the demon's chest. She slowly turned her hand within his body and chills raced through all those watching as she suddenly ripped her hand free of his flesh. His corpse fell to the ground at her feet and she held high the hand that she threw into the demon's torso. Many of the demons flinched as they caught sight of their comrade's heart beating in her hands. She slowly tightened her hand around the organ until her nails punctured through the demons heart. Rivers of blood poured out of it and she finally crushed it so all the blood exploded around the room. A crimson rain fell over all the demons and the leader spun on her heel. Her eyes flashed a demonic red once again and she said, "If another slip up like this happens again I'll tear each one of you to shreds. Now get back to work! We have a job to do!"

The demons instantly set to work for fear of the demoness' rage and Kane slid up to her silently. He placed his hand on her shoulder and whispered into her ear, "You'll be relieved to know the Urameshi received his half of the pendant."

"Good. Now it's only a matter of time before my plan can be put into action. We only have to disposed of some minor annoyances along the way," she answered as he hand moved to her own neck and fished a small cord from her cloak. At the end of the cord was the other half of Yusuke's pendant showing Yin, "Soon. It'll all happen soon."

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The red-haired kitsune couldn't even control his legs as they began to sprint through the forest where he was told Hiei would be. The smell of blood was thick in the air and Kurama couldn't be entirely sure, but he swore that he could smell Hiei's blood mixed around with it all. Kurama's speeded increased drastically and he leapt over a fallen log to find a clearing decorated in Hiei's sense of décor when it came to a battleground. Kurama barely missed his foot splashing a pool of blood and he looked around with wary eyes. Hiei was clearly not in any mood to be disturbed and he'd have to take a careful approach to keep his own head firmly on his shoulders.

"Now it's all just a matter of finding him," Kurama muttered glancing around the area with an unfathomable face.

"You…won't have to look far, Kurama," a voice suddenly said from his right. The kitsune turned in surprise to see Hiei standing between two trees looking rather pale. His arm was wrapped in strips of his own cloak and dried blood seemed to shine out from within his hairline. Kurama had never seen his friend look so worn since the demon tournament in the Makai.

"Hiei, are you-"

"I was merely caught off guard. It's nothing of-" Hiei began until a jolt hit his body and his eyes widened in surprise and pain. The apparition fell forward and Kurama barely caught him before he hit the blood-soaked ground. The red-head instantly smelled demonic poison mixed with Hiei's blood and realized that the wound on his head had been worse than originally thought.

"He won't last much longer in these conditions. This isn't going to be easy," Kurama muttered as he instantly began forming a plan to save his friend.

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Genkai stood calmly at the entrance of her temple and closed her eyes. Her faded pink hair blew all around her and her age seemed unnaturally pronounced as she listened to the wind rustling the trees around her. Genkai had little knowledge of the situation at the Reikai, but she could tell something was horribly wrong. Her dreams had told her that much. The latest dream, however, greatly disturbed the fighting master and she didn't know how she was supposed to take it.

"Yusuke…what's happening to my dimwitted apprentice this time?" the old woman muttered looking up into the sky warily. She then heard quiet footsteps behind her and Genkai turned to meet the soft eyes of the ice maiden, Yukina. The young demoness looked at the old woman and shifted uneasily from one foot to another as she moved some of her mint colored hair from her face. Genkai instantly sensed something was greatly troubling the ice maiden and she asked, "Is something wrong Yukina?"

"I…it's just…well…" Yukina's voice trailed and she looked off at the rising sun. It was still rather early in Ningenkai and both could sense the hidden tension that fell upon the humans. It wasn't distinct enough to be noticed by the humans and they remained blissfully unaware of the dangers as those who could sense its dangers worried for them.

"Was it a dream?" Genkai asked looking back among the trees before her.

"Yes…I'm worried about Kurama and Hiei…" Yukina whispered to the fighting master. Genkai blinked in surprise and slowly turned to face the young girl. Yukina saw the old woman's face and said, "Maybe it's just that Botan said that there was something wrong that caused me to dream bad things but-"

"I think you know more about this than even you realize," Genkai answered as another sound quickly came to her ears. She looked down and saw a sight that caused her entire body to freeze for a moment before saying, "Yukina, please go set up a bed and be ready to help us when we need it. You had a right to be worried."

The young ice maiden didn't even think twice at the sudden orders as she spun on her heel and ran back into the temple. Genkai on the other hand met the two figures that were struggling to make it up the stairs and attempted to help them as she asked, "What happened to him, Kurama?"

"Well, it seems he met with some unexpected resistance and they used thee surprise to their advantage. That or he poisoned himself which I find nearly impossible," Kurama answered as Genkai moved to help him support Hiei's limp body, "I managed to treat some of the poison back on the demon plain, but he's still in danger. This is one of the strongest poisons I've ever encountered in my entire life."

"Yukina is preparing a place for him even as we speak. We should be able to help him in short order," Genkai replied as the quickly moved up the staircase without disturbing Hiei. A shiver of concern hit Genkai and her mind instantly went into a whirl of thoughts about her young apprentice. What would happen if _her_ dream became a reality? Genkai paled slightly and she answered it quietly to herself. They'd all be killed.

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"So, may I ask why you dragged both of us out here this early in the morning? I mean I'm used to it, but did you have to drag Keiko out here?" Yusuke asked yawning slightly as Keiko stood quietly beside him. She was still halfway asleep and slightly irritable about being pulled into what could be another mission, but she quietly listened to what the blue-haired ferry-girl had to say. Yusuke on the other hand was more than willing to voice his annoyance as he continued, "Last I checked, you said you wanted us at Genkai's place at one. Not just a little after sunrise."

"Something's gone horribly wrong and even though you're not technically a Spirit Detective anymore we need your help. Have you had anything strange happen to you lately? Something appeared that shouldn't have?" Botan said looking apologetically at the two standing before her.

"Well, this strange little necklace appeared if that counts for anything," Yusuke answered pulling the cord out from under his shirt. He held it before him for a moment as he continued, "It's nothing strange, but I just can't get the damn thing off. It attacks me whenever I try to."

"So, Koenma was right. This isn't good at all," Botan muttered quietly as she bit down on the edge of her thumb in thought. Keiko shifted slightly in annoyance and she looked over at Botan waiting for her to continue. The ferry-girl seemed to notice the stare and looked at both of them saying, "You see, we had Hiei in the Makai looking for something that could possibly help us control this without involving you. From what we gathered when he last sent his report, Hiei had managed to get the files we needed. Just as he was telling us what was going on the communicator suddenly had a glitch and we lost contact. We waited a while for Hiei to deliver the files himself, but he didn't show up at all. So we sent Kurama to go find him and we lost contact with him too. We have no idea what's going on."

"It's not like Hiei or Kurama to get in over their heads. They're usually the ones that always manage to have complete control over a situation," Yusuke said thoughtfully as he looked up at the sky. He closed his eyes for a moment before turning around and wrapping his hands around Keiko's. He stared into her eyes and said, "Listen, Keiko. I have to help them out. I know I said I wasn't working for them anymore, but I can't just leave them in the situation that they're in. Please understand this."

Keiko stayed quiet for a moment as she thought over what Yusuke had just said. She then looked back into his deep eyes and said, "I understand, but you better not expect me just to sit on the sidelines this time. I want to be right there with you if I can."

"It's not safe for her just to sit around either, Yusuke. Demon-related fights are breaking out all over the place. It wouldn't be a surprise if one of them caught Keiko. She'd be safer with us," another voice said from their right. All three turned to see Koenma in his teenage form walking up. He stopped and said, "Besides, we're just seeing how hard this is going to be. Hiei and Kurama have resurfaced…and they have some disturbing news on what's going on."

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"WAAAA!" Kuwabara shouted diving out of his bed to dodge a flaming beam falling from his ceiling. The orange-haired fighter had woken up to see his house, which he just had recently bought for himself, in flames. He jumped up from his spot on the floor and ran over to where his cat, Eikichi, was asleep. Using a gentleness that only those close to Kuwabara knew he had, he scooped up the cat and hid her away in his jacket. The fighter managed to grab his wallet and some shoes before bolting out of the room. Kuwabara made a mad dash down the hall but found that the stairs of his second story house were blocked by a raging inferno. Eikichi made a concerned meow from Kuwabara's jacket and he said, "Don't worry, Eikichi. I'll get us out of here if it's the last thing I do."

With that, Kuwabara turned to the window and dove out of it without a second thought. He rolled on the ground for a moment and managed to keep himself from withstanding any injuries. After a moment or so, Kuwabara stood and pulled Eikichi out of his jacket. He smiled down at her and said, "I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?"

"That's an arguable statement," a low hiss said behind Kuwabara as his back suddenly erupted in pain. Blood poured profusely from the wound he had just sustained and Kuwabara threw Eikichi to safety as another blow slammed into the side of his head.

"Damn," Kuwabara said as his world began to fad in and out of focus.

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Kurama stood quietly and looked over the room. Yukina was nearly glued to Hiei's side making sure the wound on his head was completely cleaned of the poison and Genkai was standing just outside the door waiting on Botan and the others. Something was nagging at Kurama from the back of his mind as if something, or someone, was being forgotten. The kitsune dismissed it as nerves and looked back at Yukina. It was hard to believe that Yukina had no idea she was tending to her brother because of how careful and caring she was. Although, it wasn't much of a surprise as such treatment was Yukina's nature.

But something was bugging Kurama. It was the look in Genkai's eyes as they were climbing the stairs. Something had gone severely wrong and she wasn't sure if they could fix it. Kurama knew that things were slowing becoming worse, but he was sure his comrades could easily get through anything. Well, that's what he had originally thought before he had a disturbing vision the night before.

Before he could think any further into it, Genkai stepped back into the room saying, "Botan is bringing the others. They should be arriving shortly."

"Hopefully, they'll be able to put my mind at ease," Kurama said closing his eyes for a moment.

"I'm not so sure. There's something…wrong. We're forgetting someone," Genkai whispered so quietly that not even Kurama's hearing could catch it. In truth, she was absolutely right.

She just didn't know how much she was going to regret it.

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_**ME:**_** Well, that's the second chapter of this story. I really plan on updating more. I'm trying to type this stuff out during Study Hall since I have nothing better to do. I also work on it over the weekends if nothing else gets in the way. So maybe some new chapters will come faster.**

_**Hiei:**_** Feeling a little blood thirsty?**

_**ME:**_** What's funny is that my mom read over some of this when I wasn't looking and asked me if something was bothering me. Lolz. I'm just writing what I like and liking what I write. I can't help it. Lol. Anyway, I hope all the readers liked this and I'll maybe get some more reviews! (puppy eyes) please review people!**

_**Hiei:**_** She would really like some feedback on this story and she may even take suggestions later on for something that will affect the story line. She refuses to tell me and for some reason my Jagan doesn't seem to be able to make her.**

_**ME:**_** So come on! I know there are people reading this! Please! Review!**


	3. Kidnapped

_**ME:**_** Hehe. This story is becoming so much fun. That's right Cheerio-panda45. There is some major drama going on in Spirit World, but I assure you. The best is yet to come. Hehe. Drama plus fighting equals one heck of an awesome read!**

_**Hiei:**_** Why do I have this feeling that you're going to have each of us face someone from that little demon group you wrote about in the last chapter?**

_**ME:**_** I think you're still using your Jagan-eye and that's all I'm letting you know about it at this time. Plus, of course I'm going to make you fight them! I mean that's just going to have so many opportunities to have some major fun! But you're going to hate me for what I do next.**

_**Hiei:**_** …well, I can't say that I'm not looking forward to the chance to have a real fight, but now I'm curious to find out as to what you have planned to anger me.**

_**ME:**_** That's what I'm counting on, Hiei. That's exactly what I'm counting on. Anyway, let's not stall the fun any longer and get to the third chapter of this story shall we?**

_**Hiei:**_** The authoress does not own Yu-Yu Hakusho and she only wishes she does.**

_**ME:**_** Thank you, Hiei. So on with the beautiful story I have planned! Hehehehehe.**

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_**Chapter 3: Kidnapped**_

Botan quickly hurried up the stairs leading to Genkai's temple with an annoyed Yusuke, a silent Koenma, and a tired Keiko on her heels. The small group was making their way as fast as they possibly could to meet the rest of their comrades to discuss the potentially horribly situation. Botan was clearly distressed at what was going on, Koenma was trying to keep his business like air, and Yusuke and Keiko were completely unaware of all the trouble that had been caused. They only knew that whatever was going on had to be really bad for the distress that was clear on the ferry-girl and Spirit Prince. Keiko was worried about Yusuke's safety in this new challenge and Yusuke was worried about getting a worthwhile fight while Keiko was kept safe at all times. Their priorities hadn't changed too much since they were younger.

"We're almost to the top now!" Botan said in a rising hope that seemed to make her feel a little bit better at the whole situation. She was correct and it only took another few minutes for them to enter the room where the others were watching over the unconscious Hiei. Yusuke froze at the sight of the sleeping apparition and immediately felt the weight of the situation hit him in the chest. No one could take down Hiei unless they were very powerful demons. The fire apparition was smart and wouldn't allow himself to fall into any trap. Demons couldn't take him on from a frontal assault either. Yusuke immediately felt the dark presence that his enemy seemed to have and he wondered exactly what brought down his strong demonic friend.

"What happened?" he asked as he stepped into the room looking at Genkai.

"I myself don't know. All I know is that this was found in his pocket," the old woman answered producing a small disk from her own pocket. She handed it to Botan who immediately ran out of the temple. All eyes turned expectantly on Koenma who sighed.

"We sent Hiei into the Makai looking for some information on some demon attacks that have been breaking out all throughout Ningenkai. We knew the vicinity of where he needed to go, but finding the actual base of the demons was part of his job. It looks like Hiei found the base considering that disk that was found, but he must've met with someone of the higher ranks. Kurama, can you shed some light on the area you found Hiei in?"

The red haired kitsune looked at them and said, "When I arrived the area was completely covered with corpses of the demons Hiei had slain. There were enough of them to be a battalion from the group we're looking into. My guess would be that Hiei met with their leader first and had a small confrontation with them. Once the confrontation escaladed past a certain point the leader took their leave and allowed their minions to take care of Hiei. They must've known that Hiei was a force to be reckoned with and made sure they put a deadly poison into his system before leaving him there. This, of course, is only my speculation," Kurama said looking over at his friend who seemed to have gained a little more color into his face. The sleeping Hiei moved slightly underneath the blanket they had covered him with and Yukina watched him carefully.

"So let me guess. Botan just went off to the Reikai to check out that disk," Yusuke said looking at Koenma who nodded.

"Yes. It would be best if we stayed here and waited for her results," Koenma answered closing his eyes for a moment. Exhaustion swept through the group and they couldn't help but show it through their facial expressions. Keiko looked around the room for a moment and suddenly noticed something that seemed very strange to her.

"Hey…where's Kuwabara?" she asked looking at Koenma curiously. An eerie silence filled the room and their hearts began to race. He didn't know. Kuwabara had no idea the danger that was surrounding them and at the rate it was moving he'd be attacked before they could get to him.

"Alright, nobody panic!" Yusuke said turning around and moving out of the room, "I'll go out and find him!"

"I'll come as well," Kurama volunteered as he moved to walk out with him. Koenma likewise volunteered his services and just as they moved to leave another voice was heard.

"You might want to hurry," everyone spun around in surprise to see that Hiei had woken up and was sitting up looking directly at Yusuke, "The baka went and got himself into some trouble he won't be able to get himself out of."

"Gotcha!" Yusuke shouted running down the hall with Kurama and Koenma in tow.

"Are you feeling better?" Yukina asked worriedly as Hiei rubbed the side of his head in annoyance. He looked at her for a moment and nodded. She smiled and said, "That's good. That poison was really strong and for a moment I thought that it had been in your system too long."

"Well, it seems that all of us are up to speed on the situation. All we have to do now is wait for Botan to come deliver the report and for them to get Kuwabara back here in one piece. Let's hope he didn't get into as much trouble as someone else we could mention," Genkai looked at Hiei causing him to give his trademark monosyllable response.

"I really hope Kazuma is alright," Yukina said looking down at her kimono in worry. Hiei looked at her from the corner of his eye for a moment and then stood up. Yukina protested his standing up, but she was merely ignored. Hiei looked over at Genkai and slowly walked out of the room.

"Don't leave the temple," was all the old woman said to the passing apparition as he fully left the room. She received his normal monosyllable in response, but she knew the apparition wouldn't leave as long as Yukina was in distress.

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Hiei calmly walked through the hallway and allowed his mind to drift off to thoughts on the demon that had poisoned him. He hadn't even sensed she had the ability to poison him and that attack was so perfectly disguised that he hadn't even sensed anything was wrong until it was almost too late. Poison usually affected the body a lot quicker than what it had done to Hiei and he was beginning to wonder if the demon had the ability to control the poison. Hiei slowly made his way out to the front of the temple and stood in the silence as the sun was shining down on the morning dew. Wind blew around the trees and caused a very slight shiver to race down Hiei's spine.

"There's a strange wind blowing…something's coming," the apparition said calmly as he leapt to the roof of the temple and placed himself where he could comfortably sit for extended periods of time. His eyes were sharp and his body was tense. This time, Hiei was ready for a fight.

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Yusuke, Kurama, and Koenma ran as fast as their legs could possibly carry them in an attempt to reach Kuwabara's house long before anything else dangerous could get to him. A dread was welling in each of their chests and with each turn that brought them a step closer to the fighter's house, the more they knew something was terribly wrong. Finally Yusuke rounded the last corner that led onto the street where Kuwabara lived and he froze at seeing a large cloud of looming black smoke and a crowd of flustered people standing around the front of the house. Yusuke bolted forward with his two comrades on his heels and they ran into the crowd of people. After pushing their way to the front, they all felt the dread explode and could only stare in horror at Kuwabara's house burned to ashes. All that was left was a column of smoke that was beginning to die down right before their very eyes.

"What happened here?" Kurama asked a nearby human who looked at him in confusion for a moment.

"They say the fire started by someone throwing something in from the window in the living room. It spread all the way through the house like wildfire and there's no sign of the boy who lived here. Everyone's saying that he didn't make it out of the house in time. It's a shame. He was such a nice guy," the lady said before turning back to her other woman friend. Kurama looked at Yusuke and Koenma with sad eyes and they all looked at the ground.

"So…Kuwabara just died…in a fire…" Yusuke choked balling both of his fists.

Kurama opened his mouth to try and comfort him, but a small sound entered his ears. It was faint and the kitsune wasn't sure, but it sounded like a cat crying. Kurama straightened up and strained his ears in an attempt to hear the sound once again. He was rewarded with his patience and the red-haired fighter was sure that he heard the cry of Kuwabara's cat, Eikichi. His bright green hazel eyes scanned the area and just beyond Kuwabara's burned house sat the cat at the very edge of the woods. It was covered in blood and seemed to have been a little roughed up, but the cat seemed fine otherwise. Kurama pulled Koenma and Yusuke closer to him whispering, "Look beyond Kuwabara's house. See the cat at the edge of the woods?"

"Eikichi," Yusuke breathed suddenly disappearing among the crowd and, using a stealth that no one knew he had, made his way to the cat. Koenma shook his head slightly and looked at Kurama.

"I never would've believed a cat would lead us to one of our members."

"Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth. This may be the only lead we get," Kurama answered as they both moved in Yusuke's steps to get to the cat. It didn't take them long to get to the edge of the woods unnoticed and Yusuke carefully picked up that cat to move further in. Kurama and Koenma quietly followed and once they were out of the sight of possible on looking humans, Yusuke looked over the cat.

"Where did all this blood come from? It doesn't seem like the darn cat is hurt," Yusuke said looking over the cat for any sign of a wound. There were none.

"It's possible that the blood is not Eikichi's, but instead it's Kuwabara's. He would let himself get slaughtered before he let anything happen to his precious cat," Koenma said looking over the cat as well.

"There is a greater chance of that than anything else I've thought of," Kurama agreed as Eikichi let out another meow that sounded like it was beginning to get desperate. The cat leapt out of Yusuke's arms and suddenly tore off into the trees so quickly that the three had to kick it into overtime to catch up.

"I never knew a damn cat could move that fast!" Yusuke growled angrily as he pushed himself to follow the cat. The small figure of the cat managed to weave in and out of the trees without stopping even for a second and the only one who could match the speed without any trouble was Kurama.

"I'll move ahead to see what I can find," Kurama said quietly to Yusuke and Koenma before running ahead to follow the scent of blood that was thick in the air. The kitsune knew that his time was limited and if he didn't hurry, he might find his comrade taking his last breath or already dead. Both situations were something that he wanted not to have happen and it fueled him to run even faster than before. It was only a matter of moments before Kurama found a clearing and right in the middle if it was a cloaked figure beating another unmoving figure to a bloody pulp. Kurama instantly recognized the figure as Kuwabara and moved forward as he threw a seed at the demon. He sensed it coming and leapt to safety as the seed harmlessly flew into some nearby bushes. Before the demon had time to blink, Kurama was at Kuwabara's side and had his Rose Whip in his hand.

"Well, I didn't think I'd ever see you again. This is a surprise, Yoko," the demon rasped as he straightened up.

"I never wished to meet you once again, Kane. This is an unfortunate reunion," Kurama answered coldly as he heard Yusuke and Koenma making their way to them. He turned his bright green eyes on the masked demon and continued, "So was it you who attacked Hiei?"

"No, it was my superior. I'm impressed that the little demon is still alive and moving. Although, that won't last for long if our plan has no more set backs," Kane replied as he began swaying to the side.

"You're style isn't anything new to me. Don't expect to catch me off guard," Kurama replied calmly as he crouched into a well balanced position.

"Kurama! Have you found Kuwabara?!" Yusuke suddenly shouted bursting through some bushes just behind him. He ran up to Kuwabara without paying his enemy any mind and said, "Oh crap! Come on, Kuwabara! Don't you dare die on me! And you better not be trying to pull my leg again like ya did at the Dark Tournament!"

"Hm, you brought Urameshi with you…this should be interesting. I'll take my leave," Kane said just at Koenma had entered the area as well. He ignored the newest person in the area and bolted out between two trees. Kurama was determined not to let him get away and looked back at his comrades.

"I'm going to pursue him. Get Kuwabara back to Genkai's as fast as you can. I'll meet you there!" Kurama turned around and took a mad dash after Kane. At first it seemed as though his effort was all for nothing, but he soon heard Kane's footsteps just ahead of him. Kurama felt fueled by more determination and soon came so that he was running beside the demon.

"Just don't know when to give up, do you fox?" Kane hissed angrily.

"Unfortunately for you, no," Kurama answered as he and Kane initiated a furious fight.

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"Was it me or did Kurama seem to know that guy?" Yusuke asked as he looked over his friend's beaten and bloody form. Kuwabara seemed to be beaten to an inch of his life, but his stubborn friend seemed to be forcing himself to try to heal himself. Yusuke shook his head and thanked every divine force he could think of that his friend was as stubborn as a mule.

"It seemed like that was the deal," Koenma answered bending down beside Kuwabara as well. He looked over the wounded fighter and then glanced around at the entire area. Suspicion hit him once again and Koenma said, "Yusuke, something here is wrong."

"Yeah, Kuwabara's lying on the ground bleedin' to death and you're not helping me get him to a place where he can be taken care of!" Yusuke snapped pulling Kuwabara's arm around his shoulder.

"No, Yusuke, I mean something right here around us. Can't you sense it?" Koenma said balling his fists.

"Listen, Koenma! I don't sense anything and if we don't get Kuwabara-" Yusuke began to shout angrily until a sudden shock hit his system. He gently put Kuwabara back down on the ground and stood with his Reiki building in rage. Yusuke spun around in fury and shouted, "Come on out, cowards!! I dare you all to show yourselves!"

"Nyahahaha," maniacal laughter broke through the trees and shadowed figures began appearing all around them. Yusuke and Koenma instantly realized that they were completely surrounded and Yusuke cracked his neck and punched one fist into his hand, "These bastards think they can risk Kuwabara's life like this. Oh, hell no."

"This should be interesting," Koenma sighed as Yusuke leapt forward and went straight into action.

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Hiei's wary eyes scanned the ground of the temple even more carefully than before. He has sensed Kurama and Yusuke's anger spark and now they were both fueling themselves with it to fight. This surely meant that the trouble wasn't far from them and Hiei would thrust his own sword into his Jagan-eye before he hid behind the old woman to fight for him. The apparition stood and jumped off the roof to land right at the very entrance of the temple. He looked over the area before turning on his heel and walking towards the entrance of the temple. It was then that a disturbance came to his ears and he looked back just in time to see Botan land on the ground behind him.

"Oh! It's good to see you up, Hiei!" Botan smiled at Hiei causing him to sweatdrop slightly.

"Hn," he merely replied as they both walked into the temple. The walk to the room where the other females were was silent and Botan was sweat she could hear a pin drop. Hiei wasn't usually one to talk in the first place, but Botan sensed that he was even more tense than usual. His body was completely rigid as he walked and she could literally sense his third eye wide open beneath the cloth as if he knew something was lurking in the shadows around them. Botan was greatly relieved when they walked into the room where Yukina, Genkai, and Keiko sat quietly around a table taking small sips of tea.

"Where are Kurama, Yusuke, and Lord Koenma?" Botan asked causing them to look up at her with serious faces.

"They went out to get Kuwabara and bring him back here. We honestly expected to be back before you, but we think something's happened," Genkai said looking at the wall for a moment in deep thought.

"Well, I have the results in from the disk and I was kinda hoping I could deliver it ASAP, ya know?" Botan sighed as she walked further into the room.

"I'm sorry, but I won't be allowing you to deliver that report," a voice behind the ferry-girl said. Before anyone knew what had happened, Hiei was slammed through the wall out of the temple and Botan was lying on the ground unconscious in front of Yukina, Keiko, and Genkai. The fighting master jumped to her feet and the other two girls crowded around the ferry-girl. In front of all the girls stood another female and she wasn't a friend to any of them.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my temple?!" Genkai hissed angrily as she began calling her Reiki to fight. A crunching sound was heard behind them and the other girls looked back to see Hiei jumping through the hole that was caused by his own body. Hiei cracked his shoulder back into place a fixed the demoness with an uninterested stare.

"I don't know who you think you are, but this temple is off limits to those without an invitation. Get out," Genkai stated flatly as she brought her arm back to shoot an attack at the demoness. Her enemy anticipated this and quickly dug her nails into the shoulders of the old woman. A deep purple essence suddenly rose up from the demoness' nails and the wounds on the fighting master's shoulders seemed to get larger and bleed more profusely. Genkai gave a slight noise of pain as she was lifted clean off her feet and sent soaring through the air into the wall Hiei was thrown into. Genkai caused a dent to mold around her body upon impact and fell the ground unconscious. A purplish shade of blood began oozing from the old woman's shoulders and the demoness laughed as she wiped her long nails on her cloak.

"You should try some of my best poison. Created with the help of my second in command. Unfortunately, you're older body will succumb to the poison much quicker than that apparition over there," the female glanced over in Hiei's direction causing him to tense in anger and his third eye to glare behind the cloth.

"What are you doing here?!" Keiko snapped angrily as Yukina attempted to help Genkai, but Hiei suddenly moved to stand in her path. She looked at him with a look that begged him to move, but he only answered by looking at the enemy before him.

"I'm here to show you and the young ice maiden my little home. It's a first class invitation and I would just _love_ to escort you there myself," the demoness said smugly as she began to move forward toward them. Hiei sprung forward like he had springs on his heels and threw her out of the room with ease. His blade sung as he whipped it from the sheath and dashed after his enemy with a protective air.

"You'll have to take me down first," Hiei said staring at the demoness as she picked herself off of the ground.

"Always have to make things hard don't you, Hiei?" she sighed dusting herself off. She looked at him from behind the mask and said, "Why can't you just stay down and we call it a day?"

"You won't leave this temple alive," Hiei answered coldly as he shifted into a fighting stance. His sword gleamed and Hiei quickly pulled the cloth of his Jagan-eye. With his eyes narrowing and his body tensing, Hiei stared down his opponent with no sign of backing down. "You're not taking her away from here and I won't allow you to take Keiko either."

"Such a devoted brother and friend. It's a shame you've gained such human sentiments. You would've been one formidable demon otherwise. As it stands, you're nothing but a wash out!" she dashed forward with her nails draw back for another poisonous strike, but Hiei was faster. His agile form moved to the side and then came back with such a hit that it sent her flying through the wall. She crashed into a tree just outside the temple and splinters rained all around her unmoving body.

"Hiei, what should-" Keiko began to ask, but Hiei cut her off.

"Stay in the room and treat their wounds. No matter what, do not leave that room," Hiei then jumped through the hole in the wall and found that the demoness had jumped onto the roof of the temple. She was glaring down at him with pure hatred and reached into her cloak to produce a set of metal blades that clipped onto her fingers like extended nails.

"Come up here and see what a real fight against me is like, Jaganshi!" she sneered angrily pointing at him with one of the weapons as it gleamed in the sunlight.

Hiei wordlessly jumped to the roof as well and they met in a clash of metal. Hiei was quick with his sword as she relentlessly slashed at her opponent in an attempt to cut him down before her. One would've thought that she would have the advantage because of the number of her weapons, but Hiei managed to keep them on even ground through his speed and skills with the sword. The fight seemed like it could last forever, but Hiei was just recovered from dealing with her poison and was beginning to tire at the relentless fighting. Knowing that she had some advantage over the apparition, the demoness pushed him back and leapt into the air. The swordsman was expecting an attack from above, but his opponent merely hid away her weapons. She pulled out a strange sack out of her cloak and slammed it on the top of the roof. Flames burst all around them and she disappeared amongst the smoke.

"Damn," Hiei muttered as he jumped back to find some clean air. Once he cleaned his eyes and lungs of the smoke he glanced around to hear a scream echo from inside the temple. He barely sheathed his sword as he leapt into the burning temple and ran through the flames to the room where the girls were. By the time he got there Yukina and Keiko were gone and Genkai and Botan were unconscious underneath a ceiling that was beginning to crumble in. Hiei saw the demoness disappear into the trees through the hole in the wall and came to a conclusion that he had to make a choice. He could run after her and get the girls back or he'd have to save the other two from the burning temple. Hiei knew that saving Botan and Genkai would cause him to possibly lose Yukina and that was something he could not allow in anyway shape or form.

"Curse the fool who said blood was thicker than water," Hiei growled making his choice and leaping into action.

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"You're…a…formidable opponent…fox," Kane panted as he stood on a tree branch directly across from his red-haired opponent. Both were covered in various little scratches and their bodies were beginning to reach their limit.

"As are you, Kane," Kurama answered coldly as his eyes scanned over the clearing. No one had followed them and the two fighters were completely alone. If one died in the battle there'd be a chance of them not being found for a very long time. Kurama was calculating his possibilities of killing his enemy and walking away with minor injuries that he could deal with. At the moment, his chances were slim.

"You know, I'd really like to fight you for real again," Kane said straightening up as if he was tired at all. He cracked his neck and said, "Unfortunately, my superior is calling me back to my post. She's not too patient when someone disobeys her."

"You seem pretty loyal to her," Kurama noted lunging at his opponent just as Kane leapt forward too. They clashed in midair and slammed into the ground pushing their weapons against one another with all the power they could call to them. Sweat began beading at their foreheads and Kurama said, "I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to leave our fight just yet."

"I wish I could stay and play your strategic game, but we both have things we must attend to. I must go back to my superior and you…well, let's just say you might have some burnt friends if the fire apparition chose the path I think he did," Kane said as they both pushed away from one another. Kurama's eyes narrowed in confusion and he laughed saying, "In a choice between Yukina and Keiko verses the ferry-girl and the old woman who do you think he'd chose? We all think he'd go to protect the ice maiden and her friend. So, if he does that and the other two are unconscious in a burning temple…where does that leave us, now?"

"No," Kurama whispered with realization dawning on him. There was no doubt that Hiei would think about that choice before acting, but even Kurama was skeptical on how his fire controlling friend would go. Kane and Kurama put away their weapons simultaneously and stared at one another for a moment.

"Don't look so put out. We'll have the chance to finish our little match at a different date. Just be sure you live that long," Kane said before fading into the shadow of a nearby tree.

"Same to you," Kurama replied turning on his heel and tearing out of the clearing in the direction that he knew Koenma and Yusuke should've gone. He was sure that if they were close to the temple by now that they wouldn't have to worry about the choice that Hiei made, but if they were somehow delayed…they could only hope that Hiei wouldn't sentence two of their members to death if he could help them.

The smell of blood suddenly came to his nose and Kurama sped up even faster than before. The smell was unwelcome to his senses and it showed that there were fighters just around where he was. The kitsune focused his remaining demonic energy on finding out who the fighters were and nearly choked when he sensed Yusuke, Koenma, and Kuwabara still in the exact same place he had left them. It was then that he sensed a couple of demonic auras around them and he instantly knew what had happened. They had been ambushed to keep them from helping Hiei if he needed it.

"They're two steps ahead of us!" Kurama growled breaking into the clearing and sentencing the last demons that surrounded Yusuke, Koenma, and Kuwabara to death. Yusuke and Koenma looked back in surprise and immediately could tell that something was horribly wrong.

"What's with that face, Kurama? Did the guy get away?" Yusuke asked as he went back to trying to move his unconscious friend.

"That's not the major problem," Kurama answered in a voice devoid of all emotion. Koenma and Yusuke fell absolutely silent as Kurama went to tell them about what Kane had told them and by the time he had finished, the two had chills racing through their spines.

"So if Hiei chose to save his sister and Keiko…" Koenma allowed the sentence to hang in the air so he would not have to go through the pain of actually finishing it.

"But if he went back to save Genkai and Botan…" Yusuke likewise let the sentence hang in the air so they could see the options Hiei had set before him.

"We can only hope that Hiei didn't just let them die. From there…we'll just have to wait and see," Kurama answered as he helped Yusuke support the still unconscious Kuwabara.

"We have a new dilemma on our hands now," Koenma said causing Yusuke and Kurama to look at him warily, "We must either take Kuwabara with us to the temple or get him to the closest place to heal while one of us goes to the temple. It would be better to his health to get him healed, but at the rate this is going…"

"It would be dangerous and unwise for us to split up yet again. These fighters seem to be two steps ahead and putting traps along the way for us to step on," Kurama said looking at the ground for a moment. The three were beginning to wonder what exactly their next choice of action would be when a sudden ringing cut through the air. It was a cell phone.

"Is that…Kuwabara's…cell?" Yusuke asked as his eyebrow twitched slightly. He reached into his friend's jacket pocket and pulled out the fighter's cell phone. Small sweatdrops appeared on the back of Kurama and Koenma's heads and Yusuke glared at the phone as he looked at the screen to see who was calling his moronic friend. Upon seeing the caller id, Yusuke pressed the green "talk" button and answered, "Hello?"

It was then that a surprising voice answered him and the other two strained their ears to hear the news that would cause them all to sigh in relief…for now.

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_**ME:**_** Hehe. So did Hiei save Genkai and Botan or did he leave them to save his sister? Oh, will the cliffhangers ever stop? I think not! Haha!**

_**Hiei:**_** I will find it personally entertaining when the readers find you and hurt you for leaving them hanging like that.**

_**ME:**_** Hehe. I love writing cliffhangers. And besides, this story can't go too fast. I have some things in it that'll be fun to read.**

_**Hiei:**_** Yet again that is something for the readers to decide.**

_**ME:**_** Love to constantly steal my thunder, don't you, you little thief!**

_**Hiei:**_** Thievery or not, I'm sure its something the readers will happily agree with me on.**

_**ME:**_** You know what. Be quiet please! I have enough of the word games in school. I don't need my own muse to do it too!**

_**Hiei:**_** Stop complaining and get to work on the other chapters.**

_**ME:**_** I feel as though Hiei has control over this story now instead of me…what's wrong with that picture? Oh well, here's the third chappie and I hope you liked reading it! Please drop me a review and tell me what you think. Oh, and yes. There is a reason for all this craziness of not having the group be together. Hehe. Reviewing might help me update more so you can find out!**


	4. Race

_**ME:**_ **Well, that last chapter wasn't as well received as I had planned it to be…I feel kind of stupid now…**

_**Hiei:**_** This is what happens when you build up a chapter like you did. You were bound to be disappointed with the results.**

_**ME:**_** …You really like to steal my thunder, don't you? Fine, I guess I'll shut up and make the writing better.**

_**Hiei:**_** What? In no mood to argue?**

_**ME:**_** Not particularly, but I assure you that it will come back soon…I hope. Say the disclaimer please.**

_**Hiei:**_** The authoress would like to point out that she doesn't own Yu-Yu Hakusho but she does own the wish that she could somehow continue the story…I think that sequel would be much more violent.**

_**ME:**_** Yes. Yes it would. Ok, chapter start.**

**--**

_**Chapter 4: Race**_

It was then that a surprising voice answered him and the other two strained their ears to hear the news that would cause them all to sigh in relief…for now.

"Who is it?" Koenma whispered looking Yusuke questioningly. The Spirit Detective hushed him and intently listened to the voice on the other line. After a moment he looked at Kuwabara in concern.

"The blockhead should be fine after we get him looked at. What's going on Shizuru? You sound pretty freaked out," Yusuke said as Kurama and Koenma took Kuwabara's weight off of Yusuke. After a moment, Yusuke froze and said, "That sneaky bastard. I'm gonna have to give him a lot more credit. We're on our way. Keep watch over them Shizuru!"

"What the hell was that about?" Koenma asked as Yusuke hung up the phone and jammed it into his pocket.

"Shizuru called Kuwabara to tell him to get over there because Genkai and Botan needed help. Hiei dropped them off and told her to get the rest of us. Then he left!" Yusuke said looking at them.

"So Hiei didn't leave them to die after all. That's reassuring," Koenma sighed looking at Kurama who was likewise relieved. Koenma looked at Yusuke and continued, "And you were worried he'd leave them there to die!"

"Not in the mood. Ok, so we need to get Kuwabara to his sister's house and then see if Genkai or Botan can tell us what the hell happened. Let's get going!" Yusuke shouted as the three immediately leapt into action now that they had a plan.

--

Hiei ran as fast as his legs could possibly take him and he kept him youki as low as it could possibly be. The fire apparition knew that his job was dangerous and he had only a small window of opportunity to catch up to his intended target. Hiei cursed his luck and wondered about what would've happened had he not saved the other two as he did. The thought surely had crossed his mind, but something stopped him from leaving them in the temple as it was crumbling to the ground. Hiei glared at the ground and muttered, "Foolish human sentiments."

Hiei ran faster than before as he heard a scream before him that was full of terror. At the moment he couldn't tell whether it was Yukina or Keiko, but he listened again to hear that it came from Keiko. Worried that something may have happened to his sister, Hiei pushed his legs to their limits and became nothing but a shadow that merged with the trees as he ran. His steps didn't disturb a single leaf and he was deadly silent as he caught sight of the demon before him. To Hiei's slight surprise the demoness was no longer alone. She had Yukina under one arm and the male demon beside her has Keiko under his. Yukina seemed to be fine except that she was unconscious in the demoness' arm. Upon a closer look with Hiei's Jagan-eye, he saw that she merely fainted.

"Come on," Hiei growled at himself in impatience. "If I'm going to catch up to them before they get too far I have to run faster."

As if the words gave him a new strength, Hiei burst forward and pulled out his sword in one silent movement. He took to the trees above his opponents and followed for a moment, calculating his angle from above. Once he was satisfied with what would happen, Hiei leapt off the branch and dove down angle between the two demons. His blade whistled slightly in the wind and gave the demons enough forewarning to dive to the ground while the girls were lightly tossed into some bushes. Not missing a beat the fire apparition drove forward and nearly stabbed the demoness in the chest with his blade. The other demon caught the sword and threw the apparition backwards with tremendous force. Hiei was only sent reeling for a second and quickly recovered to jump away from the poisonous claws of his opponent.

"Did you really leave the ferry-girl and old woman in the burning temple? You're far crueler than I thought!" the demoness said sounding like she enjoyed the thought of causing Hiei to let two of his comrades die.

"What I did is none of your concern. Now return Yukina and Keiko and I might just let you leave with your heart still in your chest," Hiei answered coolly as he pulled back his sword once again.

"Not very patient is he?" the demon beside her chuckled softly.

"No, Kane. He isn't. We might just have to teach him some manners," she answered showing her nails like a cat would. Kane tensed beside her and Hiei positioned himself to easily make a counterstrike. It was then that Keiko rolled out of the bushes with Yukina's unconscious form beside her.

"Hiei!" she said slightly joyful at the sight of the apparition.

"Watch Yukina," was his only comment to her causing a small annoyance to well inside her. Hiei seemed to have sensed it and continued, "They broke a barrier and entered the Makai. It would be better if you stayed low and did your best to seem like an insignificant bug. You may just be left alone then."

Keiko's face paled at the mention of the demon plane and instantly moved as close to the bushes as she could get. She gingerly pulled the ice maiden to her and quietly began trying to rouse her. Satisfied that they were far enough out of the way, Hiei turned his full attention back to the two opponents before him.

"It's funny how willing you are to protect that ice maiden. I thought you cared for you and only you," Kane sniggered causing a slight anger to rise in Hiei's body. The apparition kept it under control and merely fixed both of them with an emotionless look as he moved his sword to a more balanced spot.

"Enough talk," Hiei said leaping forward slightly catching his opponents off guard. Kane moved in front of his partner and she leapt back clipping the metal blades onto her nails. Kane tossed Hiei back in an attempt to off balance him, but Hiei knew that the other opponent would use that to her advantage. So he merely leapt away as she came flying down from above and buried her nails in the ground where he was only moments ago.

"We're the perfect team Hiei Jaganshi," Kane said looking at the apparition was a straight face. "Every attack we use is modified in such a way that we can link them together. This delivers a combo with one attack right after another for as long as we can link them together. Timing is something we've perfected and there's no way a single demon can stand against us."

"Are you really so stupid to explain to me everything about your fighting style or are you trying to scare me into backing down?" Hiei growled quietly jumping at them. As soon as they tensed and were prepared for the attack he was planning to give them, Hiei dove to the right just behind them. Kane was unable to react in time and caught the very edge of Hiei's sword with his side. Kane was sent reeling and the demoness tried to move to help him. Hiei had gained the upper hand and sent a furious onslaught of punches into her gut. After a few repetitive punches he drew his arm back and shouted, "Fist of the Mortal Flame!"

The impact of his punch was enough to send her flying and Hiei then jumped over to the girls to take a breather. Both of his opponents were on the ground and Yukina seemed to finally be coming to. He diverted his attention for half of a second and soon had the back of his head meet with Kane's left elbow. The apparition was sent flying and the fight was on again.

--

Shizuru stood calmly at the sides of Genkai and Botan's beds. They had small burns on their hands and ash on their faces, but otherwise seemed to be relatively alright. The two deep wounds on Genkai's shoulders worried her a bit and Shizuru began doing all she could to try and clean them out. She thought back on what had happened only a little while before

--

_Shizuru had been sitting in a chair in her living room reading a book. She finished it in record time and allowed it to fall on its spine one the floor. She took a cigarette to her lips and lit it with a nearby lighter. She had to admit that she was bored, but she needed to wait for Kuwabara's call. He said that there something important he needed to talk to her about._

_Before she could think too much about it she heard a bang hit her door. She emotionlessly walked over to the door and opened it slightly uninterested at who was behind it…until she saw who it was._

"_Hiei?"_

"_I need you to take these two and don't ask any questions. There's not a lot of time and I have other responsibilities to attend to," the fire demon responded as he invited himself and the two unconscious women he supported into her apartment. Shizuru did not question him and instead lead him back to her guest room. There were two mats already placed on the floor and Hiei set the two on them. He looked at Kuwabara's sister and said, "Call Kuwabara and tell him that these two are here."_

_Then without another word he left her standing there with no idea what the hell was going on._

--

"What have you gotten yourself into this time Kazuma?" She muttered thoughtfully as she worked to clean the two females' faces. She stopped when they looked alright and worked on trying to attend to Genkai's shoulders. She bandaged them up when she heard her front door crash open. She sprung to her feet and quickly made her way to her living room to see Kurama, Yusuke, and Koenma supporting her unconscious lug of a brother. She blinked at them for a minute before saying, "Bring him back to my room and put him on my sleeping mat. Then tell me what's going on."

"Right," Yusuke took Kuwabara's form and took him to Shizuru's room as Kurama walked over to her. She looked at him expectantly and waited for him to explain.

"There's a new threat that seems to have challenged the Reikai. They already took Keiko and Yukina and attacked Hiei, Kuwabara, Botan, and Genkai. We're working on figuring out who's ordering these attacks, but we haven't gotten very far."

"So that's why Hiei ran out of here like a bat out of hell," Shizuru said.

"Did Hiei say anything? Anything that could let us know where he went?" Koenma asked causing Shizuru to shake her head.

"All he said was to look after them and call Kazuma. Then he left saying that he had things he had to do," she answered causing both of them to fall into a thoughtful silence. Yusuke then came up and stopped beside them.

"I have this feeling that Hiei's in the Makai…I don't know why, but I think Keiko and Yukina are there too," Yusuke said rubbing his neck causing his hand to get caught in the cord. Before he could stop his hand, it yanked the charm out from under his shirt and smacked him in the face. After letting a few curses stream through his teeth, Yusuke calmed down and stared at the pendant. He looked at Koenma and said, "Oh yeah. Not to mention this little problem. It won't let me take it off or anything."

"So…it really is the prophecy causing all this," Koenma muttered thoughtfully causing Yusuke to get irritated.

"Hey!" Yusuke grabbed Koenma by the collar of his shirt and got in his face saying, "I've been doing shit for the Reikai since you idiots brought me back to life and I've had about enough of the cryptic shit! Tell me what the hell is going on now and how can I save Keiko before she gets hurt! You're pushing my buttons, Koenma!"

"Calm down, Yusuke," Kurama said putting his hand on his comrade's shoulder. Yusuke relaxed slightly and released Koenma to step back. Shizuru moved back to her room to look over Kuwabara while Koenma gathered his thoughts.

"We received a prophecy a little while back about the Mazoku bloodline. We were unsure of what specifics were involved and before we had the chance to figure it out, Hiei went missing. Then we found out he had been poisoned and that's when we called you in. Basically, you know everything we know Yusuke and that's not a lot. We need to figure out what's going on and to do so we need our entire group back together. This in itself seems to be a problem considering Hiei went out on his own and Kuwabara seems to be down for the count at the moment. We need to get everyone healed and then get a plan together. Keiko and Yukina's kidnapping was a surprise none of us saw coming. At the moment we're running around in the dark," Koenma said shaking his head.

"Not necessarily," Kurama said thoughtfully. Yusuke and Koenma turned their attention to him and Kurama continued, "The demon I fought was called Kane. I knew him from my days as Yoko and he was always obsessed with this female that had a link to the Mazoku bloodline. Well, before he left this time he was talking about a female that was his superior. This is only conjecture, but it may be that he's working for the demoness from the Mazoku and kidnapping the two girls is a way to ensure a battle with us."

"That makes sense…They'd kidnap Keiko to get me to fight them and kidnap Yukina to get Kuwabara and Hiei to fight them. Kurama would go to fight this Kane guy and they have the whole set…" Yusuke mused counting off the plan on his fingers.

"They planned far ahead to get this right where they want it. It even seems that they made backup plans incase something went wrong. We're not dealing with amateurs and something tells me that this may be one of our toughest battles yet," Koenma said quietly thinking about everything he had encountered.

"So basically we're screwed if we mess up even once," Yusuke said thinking as well. He looked at his comrades and said, "Do you think Hiei will make it out alright on his own? If these guys are really as good as we've seen they gotta have made plans for if someone follows them. No matter how strong Hiei may be they may be able to outnumber him without trying to hard."

"That's what worries me. Hiei would've rushed in as recklessly as you would have. That in itself says that he's not himself and should be easy to outthink if he's really that emotionally involved in this. Hiei's entered a new uncharted territory that he's never been in before," Koenma said thinking about the fire apparition.

"It's not Hiei being reckless that worries me. I'm more concerned about Kane and his superior fighting Hiei while he's still recovering. There was a large amount of poison still in his blood when he left and I'm sure he's got to still be feeling it. I'm worried that he may be in over his head," Kurama replied trying to remember exactly how much poison Hiei was still carrying in his blood.

"We can't get ahead of ourselves with worry just yet," Koenma quickly took control and made Kurama and Yusuke look at him curiously. His face was determined as he said, "We'll have to get Botan and Master Genkai healed. Once they tell us what happened to them we'll have Botan show you the prophecy and deliver the report that Hiei had gotten from his mission. Once we have that we'll be able to piece some more things together and hopefully make a plan to aid Keiko and Yukina. In the meantime, we have to hope that Hiei can stall them for a while or figure out where they're going."

"You're right," Kurama said walking toward the room with Botan and Genkai. He glanced over his shoulder for a moment and said, "I'll see what my herbs can do for them and maybe get them up and moving a few hours earlier than we may have anticipated. Then I will go see what can be done for Kuwabara."

"Alright. While you're doing that, I'll go back to the Reikai and see what I can get on this female demoness and her poison. Maybe we'll have something on record that could help us out," Koenma said turning his back on them and making his way out.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?!" Yusuke asked in annoyance.

"You can fill Shizuru in on the situation since it seems we'll be using her house as a headquarters from now on," Koenma answered leaving them.

--

"Damn…he's stronger than I anticipated," the female demoness gasped with her hands on her knees. She grit her teeth in fury wondering how Hiei was still standing against her. Kane was covered in blood and barely standing on the ground beside her. His breathing was ragged and she could see his arms quivering. He wouldn't last much longer. He took too many hits for her without blocking. Her death glare was fixed on the apparition in front of her as she said, "He's a lot more determined than I gave him credit for considering he's still recovering from the poison."

Truth was, he was in just as bad shape-if not worse-than they were.

Hiei's clothes were completely torn to shreds and blood was dripping off every inch of his body. His third-eye glared out at his enemies and the bandages around his arm were falling off to reveal his dragon mark. Crimson stained every inch of him and his sword seemed to be getting heavier and heavier for him to carry. Hiei found himself cursing his unnaturally rash decision of entering a fight without taking into account how his opponents worked together.

"If…you attack him…with one more…poison attack….he…should stay down," Kane tried to speak between his ragged breaths.

"If you can move in time!" Hiei called pulling his arm backwards to call out the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. His attack began to coil around his arm and his two opponents realized the danger of the situation.

"Damn you!" the demoness screamed lunging forward to meet him. Hiei launched the attack as fast as he possibly could, but the demoness managed to just get up to him in time to dig her poisonous nails across his chest. Hiei didn't take this attack lying down and slammed the Dragon of the Darkness Flame into her stomach with all the strength he could pull together in a matter of second. His opponent was sent sprawling into some trees nearby and he found himself slammed against the tree behind him with his head bouncing off of it. The apparition managed to keep himself standing for a moment before falling against the tree and sliding down with his sword burying itself in the ground next to him. Yukina gasped from where she sat on his right and Keiko had to hold her back from running forward to his side.

"We have to run and hide. Hiei will be fine. We've got to get out of here while they're both down," Keiko reasoned with the ice maiden.

"Don't try it!" Kane roared lunging at them and coming right over them. They clung to each other in fear, but Hiei suddenly came on his side and thrust his sword into Kane's back. The demon yelled in pain and was easily thrown toward his superior by the determined apparition guarding the girls.

"Retreating might be the best decision at the moment, but I can't take you back to Ningenkai yet. I don't have the energy to spare," Hiei said looking at Kane as he slowly pushed himself up to his feet. Instead of turning on his opponent though, he went to his superior and tried to wake her up. She didn't seem to be responding and Hiei said, "I can take you to an area near here that's full of tunnels and passages. If you stay by me, we'll lose them in there and figure a way to get you back where you belong and out of danger."

"T-thank you!" Yukina stammered worriedly looking over the wounds that decorated Hiei's bare chest. He shook his head dismissively and grabbed the little bit of his cloak he had left. Then he moved in front of the girls and led them down a path that would take them to where Hiei had told them to go.

--

Kurama stood out on the balcony of Shizuru's apartment and thought about his new enemy. He thought Kane had been killed years ago and to see him suddenly alive and well was a bit of a shock. Now that he had finished healing all the people he could inside the apartment, he allowed his mind to fade off to what he remembered of this old foe. How much had he changed? How much stayed the same about his old enemy? Could he still pull the same strategy as he had before or would he have to resort to something completely new and dangerous? The thing that had truly worried Kurama was the fact that there was even the slightest chance of him losing against Kane.

"No…I can't afford to lose," Kurama said wrapping his fingers tightly around the rail so that his knuckles turned white.

--

Shizuru sat in her room looking down at her brother's beaten form. Kurama had managed to get him healed a bit, but she was still worried. Sure, her brother had come home completely black and blue many times before when they were younger, but he always griped and moaned about what happened. Yusuke was the main cause of these beatings, but he never did anything serious. He just blued his face up a bit and then left. Shizuru could tell by the way all the wounds were laid that this enemy had been out to kill. Kuwabara was a tough fighter, but this guy was tougher.

"Is that even possible? After all they've been through there are still people stronger than them with such ungodly power?" Shizuru pressed her right knuckle into the side of her head and reached for a cigarette with the other. After she found the lighter in her pocket, she lit up a smoke and looked back down at her younger brother. It was then that he did something that nearly scared her out of her wits.

Coughs began rasping out of his throat and he seemed like he couldn't breathe at all. Shizuru was on her feet in an instant and began trying to think of what she should do to help her younger brother. Before she could get to far though, Kuwabara sat up covering his face saying, "Damn! Those things are the most toxic stuff I've ever smelled before!!"

"Kazuma!" Shizuru slapped her brother with her free hand and continued, "Don't you ever scare me like that again! You got that! I might just have to kill you myself next time if they don't finish the job properly!"

"AHHHH!" Kuwabara fell backwards from the force of the hit and smacked his head into the wall behind him. He cowered from his older sister and said, "C-come on, Shizuru! I've been in worse binds before!! And I got out of them just fine. You don't have to worry so much!"

"You're my brother! You think I'm not going to worry?!" Shizuru snapped angrily at her brother as she felt all the anger, the worry, the frustration, and about every other emotion she had roll out of her. She stared him down and was instantly calmed when she saw her dope of a brother smile a smile that only a sister would be affected so powerfully by.

"It's alright sis. I wouldn't leave you that easy. Plus I gotta make sure you're taken care of first," the orange haired swordsman said comfortingly.

"You…idiot," Shizuru looked down before putting out the cigarette in the ash tray. Tears began to burn her eyes and Kuwabara tried to do the only thing he could. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

--

Koenma sat in the room beside Botan and Genkai. After returning from the Reikai, he had snuck back into the room without meeting any of his comrades so he could think a little more clearly about the problem while he was able to watch his comrades heal. His thoughts were deep in his own mind and his eyes stared unseeingly at the ground beside Botan. What if she didn't wake back up? Both Botan and Genkai had been poisoned before the building had burned and the smoke in their lungs wasn't helping them breathe at all. Koenma had done everything he could to help them after Kurama attempted to heal them, but only so much seemed to work. Now, the Prince of the Reikai could only sit by and hope, with every fiber of his being, that they'd both manage to make it out alive.

"Come on you two. We need you to make it out. It's not time for either of you to go," Koenma whispered desperately to them.

"Nngh," a voice cut through the room causing him to flinch. He looked to his side and noticed Botan moving and coming to. Koenma leaned forward and held his breath as Botan's eyes slowly opened her eyes. They were clouded for a few seconds, but she blinked them clear and then looked up to her superior. She tried to smile and said, "Koenma…it's good…you're ok."

"Don't waste your strength Botan. You need to just rest and get your strength back. You and Genkai barely escaped death," Koenma whispered to his subordinate thanking the stars that she was awake once again.

"Hiei…saved us didn't he?" Botan asked looking at him curiously.

"Yeah. That guy never ceases to surprise me," Koenma smiled shaking his head slightly.

"We have to get them back. The demoness…she's…Yusuke's sister Aina!" Botan gasped in pain causing Koenma to freeze and a certain detective freeze in the doorway who just happened to be walking in at the time.

--

_**ME:**_** Hmm……I think I could've done a little better with this chapter. I think its time to kick it up and notch and see what I really want to do with this story. Starting with what's going to happen to Keiko and Yukina. Can't have them get saved that easily, now can I?**

_**Hiei:**_** What the hell are you going to do now?**

_**ME:**_** I can't tell just yet…but you're going to hate me for it later. So are the rest of the Spirit Detectives. So I'm going to need some protection…Every time I get a review I get something that saves me from getting killed by the characters! Help me out people! I'm going to need a hell of a lot of armor!! Review! (Runs from Yusuke, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Kurama-yes Kurama too.)**


	5. Surprise

_**ME:**_** Sorry for such a long delay of me updating. I'm gonna have to pick up some stories and finish them so I have less to do. I really hope people are sticking with me and I will do everything in my power to update more.**

_**Hiei:**_** You got yourself in over your head yet again didn't you?**

_**ME:**_** Yes I did. And I have figured out a good solution. I've made a typing schedule that'll even out my story updates and give some equal attention to the stories that have been neglected. I'll put that on now. This'll be the list until one of the stories is completed or something like that. If anyone needs to see it or where I'm currently at I'll have it posted on my profile and try to update it every time I finish a chapter (this counts on memory for me. Lol)**

_**YYH- Here We Go!**_

_**YYH- Misguided Blood, War of the Mazoku**_

_**Story for Friend**_

_**TOS- Vessel For Two**_

_**Xenosaga- A URTV's Equal**_

_**Story for Friend**_

_**TOS- Melting the Heart of Ice**_

_**Possible one of the others still going if I get inspiration**_

_**Story for Friend**_

_**REPEAT**_

_**Hiei:**_** I bet you crash in the first week.**

_**ME:**_** Never! I have even more reason to write these out now because I have more writing improvement opportunities. And this is important to me! And I can't say that those reviews don't mean anything to me…I get really happy reading them. Lol.**

_**Hiei:**_** Either way. You'll need luck and hopefully readers that still want to read this.**

_**ME:**_** You're so mean to me! (cries) Well, I hope people will still wanna read this and here's the fifth chapter! I swear things are going to pick up with a lot more action and…hehe…plot development. I only own my ideas. The rest of it belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi.**

_**Hiei:**_** There's something suspicious in the way you said that.**

_**ME:**_** Indeed. Chapter start!**

--

_**Chapter 5: Surprise**_

"We have to get them back. The demoness…she's…Yusuke's sister, Aina!" Botan gasped in pain causing Koenma to freeze and a certain detective freeze in the doorway who just happened to be walking in at the time.

"What?!" Yusuke nearly shouted and dropped the mug of tea that he had been bringing in to shatter on the floor. He couldn't bring himself to move from the stunned stance he was in and his hand instantly shot up to the pendant that he had been hiding under his shirt. Something clicked in his mind and he said, "Then she's the one who has the other half to this thing…I bet our old man is the one who keeps it from being taken off…but what the hell is going on? Why is all this happening now?! And why didn't he say anything about it when we were training?!"

"Calm down, Yusuke. As it is, we're still trying to understand who it is we're dealing with. We still have too many unanswered questions before we can put too much together and decide what to do. As it is…we only have the prophecy."

"I think it's about time you let me listen to this prophecy. Word for word. And then you need to show me the report Hiei brought back. I'm sick and tired of being left in the dark here," Yusuke snapped glaring at Koenma in fury.

"Tone it down, Yusuke," a smaller voice said from behind where Koenma was sitting. Genkai had managed to push herself up and move the hair from her face. Her breathing seemed labored and they could all see the age on her face. The old woman was beginning to show her years of demon fighting, but she didn't let it change the way she spoke to her pupil as she continued, "Getting angry about it now isn't going to help us or Keiko. What we need to do now is hope Hiei got there in time and has at least slowed them up to a degree."

"Agreed. Kane isn't one to kidnap people and then immediately kill them. He uses them as bait for what he's really after and then kills them before their very eyes. So until we get a clear idea of where Keiko is, she's safe no matter who she happens to be with at the time," Kurama agreed entering the room with Kuwabara and his sister on his heels. Shizuru sighed at the mess on the floor and bent down to clean the broken glass.

"I…alright. Koenma…what can we do?" Yusuke said looking at his old boss questioningly. Genkai could sense the worry radiating through her pupil's body and was impressed that he managed to control it and keep his voice level as he was talking to his superior. He had learned more than she realized.

"I can give you the orb that has the prophecy to listen to. Then we're going to have to split our ranks once again. Hopefully we won't be doing this too much more," Koenma replied standing and making his way to walk out of the room. Botan lightly grabbed his ankle before he could move and whispered something almost inaudible. Koenma stopped and bent closer so he could hear.

"I…have it," she whispered reaching into her kimono and pulling out a small envelope that Koenma instantly recognized as his specially treated envelops to be near indestructible. The blue-haired ferry-girl was barely able to keep conscious as she handed her boss the package. Koenma made sure her hand fell gently on the ground beside her and stood up slowly.

"My healing herbs don't work as fast as Yukina's healing, but I assure you that she'll be fine after she rests a little bit more. She's already gotten better than before," Kurama assured Koenma who nodded and opened the envelope. He pulled the orb out of its protective case and held it out to Yusuke.

"Sending a bit of your energy into the orb will trigger the prophecy and let us all hear it. Then I will give you guys the papers and once you look it over, we'll map out what we need to do next. I'll be in the living room while you all hear it," Koenma said walking past them pressing his palms into his temples. He handed Kurama the report and excused himself while taking the broken glass in Shizuru's hands.

"He seems overwhelmed," Shizuru noted as she watched Koenma's defeated shoulders go down the hall.

"I can't blame him…Keiko and Yukina getting kidnapped, Hiei running into it without backup, Genkai and Botan getting roughed up, us having to split up, and these new demons that seem to have us playing right into their hands…I honestly would crack under the pressure. Koenma's pretty tough," Yusuke said looking at the orb he held in his hands. Its contents were a swirling pitch black and an overwhelming sense of darkness burned Yusuke's fingers as he held the item.

"I can understand. The pressure is only growing and the stress will cause him to crash eventually. We should attempt to cut that off before it happens," Kurama replied looking at the orb in his comrade's hand.

"Right," Yusuke nodded focusing some of his energy on the orb. It exploded in his hand and a mini whirlwind whipped around the room. Genkai grunted slightly and Kurama, who was closest to her, stabled her so the wind would not move the weakened woman. A thunder crash sounded through the air and a deep raspy female voice called through the air, _"Raizen, the God of War and King of the Mazoku, will be gifted with two children that will stand proud to their father's name. One shall be his son with a temper like an active volcano and the other shall be his daughter as calm as the untouched sea. Together they shall make the perfect Yin and Yang with a never changing stable balance. No world has ever seen the likes of these children and with their birth, a new age will dawn on all living things. The son will be the savior to all he comes into contact with, while the daughter will wage war on all she sees. The two will know nothing about the other and when they've reached twenty years of age, they'll meet on the battlefield with their weapons blazing. There the truth shall be revealed and they will be forced into the final clash._ _One, and only one, will walk from the battlefield and place their will on the worlds. Ningens and Yokai alike will submit to their will and the new age will truly begin."_

With that said the wind immediately stopped and all of them stood there completely stunned by what was said. Yusuke looked at Kurama and the kitsune blinked away his surprise to say, "I think this runs deeper than any of us could've imagined."

"Damn it!" Yusuke shouted wishing that he could fire his gun at the nearest person, but restrained himself. Acting like a child wasn't going to get Keiko back and he needed to control everything he did so nothing would get out of control and cause him to lose anyone he cared for.

--

"This is a complex series of caves that have dead-ends and confusing directions. I frequently used these when I wanted to toy with my enemies before I killed them. It's unlikely that those fools will be able to find us here," Hiei said finally leaning against a cave wall and closing his eyes slightly. They had been walking for hours and the apparition was sure to lead them deep into the complex twists and turns of the dark caverns. The cavern was made so it would reflect moonlight and sunlight so one could see inside, but be unable to find the exit through it.

Yukina and Keiko had gotten slightly tired as they followed on Hiei's heels, but both refused to complain. Instead they were watching Hiei closely and noticed that he was paler than usual. It didn't take a genius to figure he was pushing himself for them and he had already lost a large amount of blood. Hiei was one of the toughest fighters of their group, but that accounted for little when one had poison in their system and lost a decent amount of blood. Despite Hiei's strength, there'd be no way he would be able to last too much longer without being treated. So, the Ice Maiden took a breath and said, "Mr. Hiei…Um…I think we should look over your wounds and maybe stop the bleeding if we can."

"…Hiei…" he muttered not bothering to look at them.

Yukina was confused at first and looked to Keiko for help. The brunette smiled and said, "He's asking that you just call him Hiei. He doesn't like the "Mr." stuff."

Yukina nodded and then continued, "Please. Will you let me look at the wounds?"

Hiei slowly opened his almond-eyes and stared at the young Ice Maiden for a moment. Then he closed them once again and nodded slowly as he slid down the wall to sit. Yukina was on her knees in an instant and began healing his wounds and trying to make sure that he didn't lose anymore blood. Keiko stood back and carefully watched the entire thing. Hiei slowly opened his eyes soon after she began healing him, but he couldn't bring himself to look in her eyes. Every time they got close, he would divert his attention elsewhere and become deeply interested in whatever would catch his eye next. This made Keiko slightly suspicious and she took a much closer look at Yukina and Hiei near one another. What happened next almost caused her to gasp in surprise.

Keiko noticed how their jaws were shaped similarly and their facial structures were a similar as they could get under the circumstances. The shapes of their eyes were identical and Keiko was amazed that she hadn't seen it before. All the talk about Yukina's brother and how Botan was always cutting herself off on the subject finally clicked in Keiko's head. Hiei had to be Yukina's older brother. It just made sense, but then why did he never tell her. Keiko thought about it in her head and realized that he was ashamed. In his opinion, Yukina shouldn't have a brother like him.

The brunette shook her head and bit her lip. She couldn't believe the situation she had gotten herself into and couldn't believe that after all this time so many secrets had been hiding right under her nose. Yusuke was sure going to get an earful of it all later after she got back. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind and watched as Yukina sat back to see there weren't anymore open wounds and the bleeding had stopped. Hiei seemed to have fallen asleep and was recovering his energy. The poison was officially out of his system and the next time he opened his eyes he'd be in perfect shape.

"Nice job, Yukina. How long do you think he'll be out of it though?" Keiko said gently moving to her knees beside Yukina.

"He shouldn't be too long. He's already restoring his energy and taking control over the blood loss. No one should find us while he's resting," Yukina said looking back at her friend and then letting her eyes wander around the caves.

"I wish we knew what was happening. Then we might be able to be more than just people they have to rescue, you know?" Keiko said running her hand through her brown hair. Through everything that had happened, it got messy and slightly witchy looking. She took the time she had to run her hand through it like a brush and fix it as much as she possibly could.

"Kazuma," Yukina whispered quietly to herself as she looked at her hands in worry. Keiko knew the feeling. At that same moment, she was worrying about Yusuke and hoping nothing had happened to him while she was gone. He always seemed to get himself in trouble when she left him alone for too long.

"I'm sure Kuwabara will be alright. He's one of the toughest guys I know and wouldn't let anything happen to you, Yukina," Keiko smiled as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"That's what worries me. I don't want him to get hurt more just to come help me," Yukina whispered quietly closing her big eyes.

"You can't think like that Yukina. They're working not only to save us, but to save everyone else who's caught in this. They'd get into trouble either way, but with us around we can help," Keiko said comforting her a little.

Hiei on the other hand was slightly awake and listening to them without their knowing. As it was, Keiko had it pegged. Yukina's healing would be of use to them and he couldn't argue with having her close by so he could watch her. He could also see that Keiko was Yusuke's fire. She would be able to keep him from dying and keep him going no matter what happened. Keiko was the only thing they'd need to keep Yusuke on his feet. Kurama had other reasons for his fight and wouldn't abandon those he befriended. Hiei would just watch Yukina. That's all he wanted.

"Do you hear something?" Keiko asked suddenly effectively silencing the whole cave. Hiei's ears perked up and instantly caught it. There were feet running toward them as swiftly as they could go without making a sound.

"They're quick," Hiei muttered immediately jumping to his feet and brandishing his sword. He looked back at Keiko and Yukina saying, "You can follow directions right?"

"Just tell us where to go," Keiko said as Yukina nodded.

"Go down this cave and you'll come to a four way intersection. Turn left, right, straight, left, and then another left. You'll come to what seems a dead-end. Move the stone at the very back of the cave and you'll see a tunnel going down. After sliding down that you'll come to an underground lake. Swim about halfway out and then go all the way to the right. Dive down and you'll see and underwater cavern. Swim into it and hide there until I come and get you," Hiei said slowly enough for Keiko to memorize it, but low enough that no one else could hear it. After running it through her mind find times Keiko nodded and grabbed Yukina's arm as she turned to run.

"Be careful," Yukina said before Keiko managed to pull her all the way down the cave hall.

"Hn…worry about yourself," Hiei answered running the opposite way to meet whoever was on their trail.

Keiko and Yukina didn't hear him and continued to make their way down the path. They soon came to the intersection and turned a hard left. Keiko was running the directions over and over through her mind as they ran and Yukina was thinking about Hiei. She looked at Keiko and said, "You don't think he'll get too hurt do you?"

"If I know Hiei he'll kick the others guys butt. We need to worry about keeping these directions straight," Keiko answered turning once again when she had the chance.

"You're right. I'm sorry," Yukina said as she too focused on the path they were taking at a full out sprint.

"Don't worry about it. Our group needs a person like you to worry about everyone. It reminds us that we're not invincible. So you keep doing that and I'll get us to where Hiei told us to go," Keiko said as they went through the last of the directions to come to the dead-end. They instantly spotted the rock Hiei was referring to and moved it to see the tunnel going down. Keiko looked at Yukina and said, "I'll go first. Wait ten seconds and then follow me."

With that, the brunette lowered herself into the tunnel and let go to let herself slide down. Yukina carefully counted to fifteen instead of ten and then followed suit. She soon was able to release herself and was given a rude awakening. The second she let go she shot down through the tunnel at such speed that she couldn't help but cry out in surprise. It took twists and turns and jolted her around enough to make her dizzy. Just as Yukina thought she couldn't handle anymore she was released from the darkness and tumbled onto the ground beside Keiko who was in a daze.

"Hiei didn't warn us about that," Keiko grumbled quietly to herself as she sat up with her hair a complete mess. Yukina looked at the sight and couldn't stop herself from giggling a little. Keiko was perplexed and went to look at herself in the reflection in the water. She took one look and began laughing as well. They gave themselves a little time to relax and then stopped so they could remember the rest of what they had to do.

--

Hiei jumped away from the attack and landed so he was three yards away from his attackers. The demons he fought before decided to step it up and sent two more demons to get them as well as a few tricks. The passages behind them were full of poison gas and there were various weapons buried deep into the walls of the cave. One was a demon in a blue cloak symbolizing that they had control over water. The other was in a cloak that changed colors depending on the attacks they used. This symbolized that the demon had control over dimensions and was staying back to let their comrade do all the fighting.

Hiei sensed something was wrong and immediately went to attack the water-user. At the last possible second he spun around to attack the dimension-user. They seemed surprised about the sudden attack, but was quick to pull out their weapons, which happened to be twin-blades. Hiei went into a swordfight with the figure and the water-user stayed back to watch it happen. Sparks flashed around the cave and their blades clashed at every angle every few seconds. Hiei wasn't putting too much effort into fighting his opponent as their skills were only adequate to his own. This fact did not go unnoticed and it was a short matter of time when the water-user dove into the fight with his water attacks that were refined enough to cut through steel. Hiei was switching back and forth between fighting the two opponents and still wasn't throwing his all into the fight to stay ahead of them.

In an attempt to catch him off guard they moved to be in front and behind him with their attacks blazing. Hiei smirked and decided to make a fool out of both of his opponents while knocking one of them out of the picture. So he caught the water demon's attack behind him with his sword and dodged the dimension demon's attacks. Then he kicked off the dimension demon's chest and then kicked off the water demon's chest. Hiei landed one final kick to the dimension user's face and flipped behind the water demon while slashing his sword through their back. They gave a cry of pain and fell to the ground not to get back up anytime soon. Hiei brought his sword back to deliver a fatal blow, but something suddenly crashed into the middle of his chest and sent him crashing into the cave wall. The dimension-user had finally gotten pushed past their limits and was sending attack after attack of pressure into Hiei's chest. It was strong enough to easily crush the ribs of a demon the size of what Genbu from Maze Castle and the power of Raizen, Yomi, and Mukuro put together. Hiei felt the wind get knocked out of him with each attack and dodged to the side when he was able to avoid the onslaught. He gingerly rubbed his tender ribs and stood saying, "I may have underestimate you over there."

The demon merely nodded and lunged forward with their twin-blades held before them. Hiei met the challenger in mid-stride and they became a blur of nonstop movement and clashing swords. Hiei had to pick up the challenge to fight and this time he actually was putting a decent amount of effort into his attempt to fight his enemy.

Even then Hiei had a feeling that he was being pulled into a trap. He glared under the demon's hood and hissed, "What are you planning?"

"A trap," the demon rasped in an angry voice. He suddenly threw his weapons aside and continually punched Hiei in the chest where his attacks had been directed at. The air was knocked clean out of Hiei and he stumbled back, but he wasn't going to let himself get beaten that easily.

"Take this," Hiei shouted sheathing his sword and focusing his energy into his fist. He ran forward and shouted, "Fist of the Mortal Flame!"

"Damn," the demon growled trying to get away, but soon had Hiei's fist in his gut. He went spinning backwards and Hiei lunged at the demon ready for a fight to the end. Hiei wasn't going to let this fight end in their favor without a hell of a fight.

--

Koenma was sitting in a chair by the window accessing his Reikai records through a small laptop he had hidden on him. At the moment, he was accessing where demon attacks were breaking out and where the detectives would have to go to take care of them to protect the Ningen population. Hiei's report told them where the headquarters was and why they had kidnapped the girls to get them there. There was something written in an ancient language of the Makai that they could not understand, but Koenma knew it had something to do with the fight between Yusuke and his sister Aina. It would take two days for Koenma to open a portal near where they wanted to be and in that time it would take him, the detectives would be out taking care of the demon problem in Ningenkai.

The only thing that really worried him was if Yusuke would allow him that time and save the humans in the meantime. Keiko was the only thing on his mind at the moment. Yusuke didn't even give a damn about the fight he was called out to or who it was that had called him to it. He was only concerned about the love of his life. Koenma had to admit that he admired that. Yusuke used to be nothing but a hothead that needed to grow up. Now he was even more mature than the Prince of the Reikai. That, on the other hand, irritated Koenma. How had that hothead passed him up like that? He had been around much longer and still managed to get passed up? Koenma bit the inside of his lip and dropped his irritation long enough to really think about why he felt that.

"Damn," he muttered lounging back in the chair and covering the side of his face with his hand. It was too much. Koenma didn't know what he was going to do. He glanced out of the corner of his eye outside and watched people walking down the sidewalk with laughter and happiness. They were who they were protecting and possibly sacrificing their lives for. It was for them and Koenma continually reminded himself that.

"Hey," a voice broke through his thoughts and caused him to look up. Yusuke was standing over him and looking at him seriously. Koenma motioned for Yusuke to sit across from him and the twenty year-old sat down. He looked at his superior for a second and said, "So, I heard the prophecy and read the whole report. How long will it take for you to make a portal right near there?"

"Two days," Koenma answered simply as he waited for Yusuke to explode in anger at him. Amazingly enough it never came.

"Would we be sitting around here for those two days?" Yusuke asked in a genuinely calm voice. Koenma was amazed at how Yusuke didn't seem affected by what he said and was quick to answer the question.

"No. You'd be out taking care of demons in Ningenkai and erasing memories when needed. I wouldn't let you be sitting here while I worked on the portal, but I would need someone to watch my back while I did so I wouldn't be attacked when my back was turned," Koenma said as he mapped the last of the attacks on his laptop and then sat it on the coffee table in front of him. He turned to look out the window and watch the people saying, "You, Kuwabara, and Kurama would be the obvious choices for protecting the Ningens, but then we have to decide what will happen to Botan, Genkai, and Shizuru."

"I think we don't have to worry about Shizuru and Botan if they stay here. Plus Genkai is actually getting better as we speak. She should be able to give you some back up or at least long enough for someone to get to you in time," Yusuke said thinking the situation over. Yusuke looked up at Koenma and said, "If you start tomorrow that'll give her enough time to get strong enough to walk around and then we can make sure Kuwabara's fully healed up too."

"You're thinking this through a lot more calmly than I would've anticipated. I honestly expected you to be raising hell and ordering me to get a move on," Koenma said looking at him in surprise.

"Honest truth is…I wanted to. I wanted to kick your ass and tell you that if you wanted to live that you'd get us there today. Then I thought about it. I thought about Hiei's report, the prophecy, Keiko, and the people getting hurt by those demonic bastards," Yusuke lowered his eyes and looked at his hands. Koenma leaned forward a bit to listen easier and Yusuke took a breath to continue, "I realized that no matter what I'd do it wouldn't change anything. Opening a portal to get us exactly where you want us will take some time and in the meantime people are getting killed. What if they killed my mother? Or Keiko's parents? Or Kurama's? We need to save all the people we can and then get to the two who were kidnapped. Hiei should be giving those demons absolute hell for kidnapping Yukina and I'm sure that he'll keep them busy for three days until we can find him."

"I'm impressed. You've definitely grown up quite a bit since we first met," Koenma sighed leaning back and shaking his head.

"Of course! I've married Keiko and she can put someone in there place in a minute. Plus if I didn't grow up her dad would knock some sense into me!" Yusuke growled angrily at Koenma who laughed.

"I see. Well, since we've decided what's going to happen I think we should get some rest. Its getting late and we need to start earlier than we have before to get this situation in order. You better give Kuwabara a heads up. He's only been to the Makai once and its changed under Enki's rule…oh no," Koenma's eyes suddenly got very large and he couldn't breathe straight for a moment. Yusuke stood up ready to help his comrade, but nothing could bring Koenma out of the state.

"Sorry about this," Yusuke muttered grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and slapping the shit out of Koenma. It barely brought him back to reality and he grabbed Yusuke's shirt causing the detective to let him go.

"We have another problem! We're intruding on Enki's jurisdiction. It wouldn't be such a big deal if we had cleared it with him before. Now, we're getting into dangerous waters and what happens if these demons actually have a connection with Enki? We could be screwing over the relations between the Reikai and Makai," Koenma nearly freaked as he began running scenario after scenario over in his head.

"More like Enki would be giving us all medals," Kurama said walking into the room with Kuwabara on his heels. Koenma let go of him and they stared at Kurama completely perplexed. Kurama walked in and sat down on the couch. Kuwabara stood behind him and Kurama continued, "I did a little mind prying when I was fighting Kane without him knowing and placed it in the back of my mind. It took me a while to bring it back because of everything that had happened, but I just remembered that they were making plans to sneak into Enki's place and overthrowing him for the title of Ruler of the Makai."

"Great. That's one more problem to deal with," Yusuke said shaking his head in annoyance. The control he was using was getting harder and harder to maintain, but he swore on finding Keiko that he wouldn't lose it until he found Aina.

"But not one you'll have to deal with alone," a voice said from the doorway of Shizuru's apartment. All of their heads snapped up and none could hide the surprise that was etched into every feature of their faces. There were two figures standing in the doorway. One was taller than any of them and the other was more around Yukina's size. Each had black hair and looked unusually strange to be considered human. Yusuke nearly had a cow upon realizing who it was and couldn't keep himself from shouting.

"YOMI?! SHURA?!"

--

_**ME:**_** Mwahahahahaha! I love this story and I can NOT wait for what else I have planned to come. It's going to be freaking awesome.**

_**Hiei:**_** As I've said plenty of times before, you'll have to let the readers decide that.**

_**ME:**_** I know, but with this new schedule there will be more material and chapters coming out faster than before if I keep to it. And with more chapters gives more chance for people to love it or not. It's a gamble. **

_**Hiei:**_** One you're willing to make I can see. I guess I can only sit by and watch at this point so I'll be there to see what happens.**

_**ME:**_** Yes, and I thank you for being such a good muse. I'll try to give you something in return for it all before this is up. But for now I want to thank the readers of this story and I hope you liked it! Review please!**


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